Welcome back to term 3. I hope the last break was enjoyable for you and your family, and that you have returned to the term with vigour and energy. The staff and I are very grateful for the week of professional learning that we had in the final week of the girls’ break. In many independent schools, staff and students have three weeks’ holidays. At St Patrick’s College, the staff are at the College in the third week and participating in vital professional learning that will have an impact on your daughter’s learning. Bringing all the days together in one week reduces the disruption across the year for the girls when having a day here or a day there. Having the professional learning after their two week break means that staff engage with the professional learning in an energised and engaging way. Our work is far more productive at this time of the term than if it was at the end of term 2.

Our focus this year was on writing programs to embed the many changes we are experiencing across all KLA curriculum. We also spent a day on the Child Safe Standards and the new wellbeing app that we will use with the girls in the coming months. We spent a day looking at how to identify the high potential and gifted girls in our classes and then how to differentiate the lessons and programs so that they are enriched. This has been a priority for the College this year and I will be able to share more in the coming months. Finally, we had a wonderful staff spirituality day which focused on the Benedictine theme for the year of Love of Neighbour. We cannot engage in this essential professional learning without your support, so thank you.

This week, our Year 12 girls began their Trial exams. The Trial period goes for just over two weeks. They have worked hard preparing for this exam period and will now get their first experience of what the HSC exams will be like. We have the same invigilators who will be used for the HSC and all the processes and requirements of students will be the same. We hope this will provide some familiarity for the girls for when they are back in October. Please keep the girls and their families in your prayers during this time. When a household has a Year 12 student in it, the whole household is living the HSC.

Through the term, we surveyed parents in regard to the Parent Forums. Last term, we hosted them at 9am at the College and whilst we had a good number attend, parents asked that we reschedule them to the evening. Therefore, we have scheduled two more forums for Semester 2:

Senior School Forum on Wednesday 30 August beginning at 7.00pm

Middle School Forum on Wednesday 13 September beginning at 7.00pm

For both forums, the agenda will be:

1. AI and its implications for schools

2. Gifted and Talented Program

We hope you will be able to attend. We are exploring the possibility of zooming the evening as well so that all parents are able to attend in some way.

Finally, I was invited to the Campbelltown Catholic Club’s Communion Mass and luncheon on the weekend. The Catholic Club is always very generous to the Macarthur Catholic schools and other organisations that reach out to people in need. The Club has given the College a very generous donation that will be put towards the scholarship fund. The scholarship fund assists families that experience adversity and hardship and need some assistance so their daughter can continue to attend St Patrick’s. In this time of increasing cost of living expenses and, in many situations, loss of health or employment, this has been very much appreciated by many families. I have included a photo of Gabi and Abigail who attended the mass with me.

I will leave you with a short comment taken from the Rule of Benedict which very much informs our call to love our neighbour ( RB 36,1-2).

Bessings 

Sue Lennox

The sick are to be cared for

Before and above all else,

For it is really Christ who is served in them.

He himself said:

I was sick and you visited me, and

Whatever you did to one of these little ones,

You did to me.